St. Mary’s serves up more than 3,400 meals at annual festival

Published 8:58 am, Wednesday, November 13, 2013

A tradition built over 62 years brought a rough estimate of 3,400 people to Umbarger on Sunday to partake in the Umbarger German Sausage Festival by St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

All of the food was made by hand, with sauerkraut starting in September. On Sunday the church, made up of about 65 families, served 5,000 pounds of sausage, 1,300 pounds of potatoes, 3,000 pounds of sauerkraut, 180 gallons of green beans, 83 gallons of apple sauce and 250 loaves of bread.

“It was the best crowd we’ve ever had; it just makes me very happy. Yesterday afternoon, maybe around noon, I walked outside just to see what it looked like. I was so excited to see that line go on and on and on,” said Lea Ann Handing.

“We don’t have that many families, but we can still put on a meal like this to feed that many people. It’s great to just see that we can all work together no matter what our age is, and it does take every single one of us.”

Handing and Suzy Hicks served as the chair team for the event, each for their second year.

“We are neighbors, so it was real easy to get together every once in a while to do all of the things we need to do be prepared. Suzy was great to work with,” Handing said.

“The event did really well. The country store sells out really fast, and we had more raffle prizes and sold more tickets than ever. The whole day was just unbelievable. We want to thank everyone by coming out and supporting St. Mary’s because that’s what it is all for.”

The church holds work sessions for church members to help prepare the food, which includes making the sausage and peeling potatoes.

“It’s a fun day,” Handing said.

“Every time we get together there is a lot of visiting going on while we’re working. It’s a chance to sit and visit with your friends and neighbors instead of just seeing them at church real quick.”

Hicks said on Sunday she was happy with the crowd and proud of the church’s volunteers.

“I just felt like we were very blessed. People have supported us for years. We were talking to people and some came for the first time, but there were others who were there for their 10th or 12th year. People know what we serve, and the quality of our food is what keeps them coming back,” Hicks said.

Trina Viggs of Canyon stood in line for a substantial amount of time before reaching the line inside and getting her plate.

“I think it’s an awesome event to see everyone from the church involved,” she said.

Mark White of Amarillo brought his family, as he has done for several years.

“We like to support the church,” he said. “Plus, the food is great.”

Hicks said that volunteers are imperative to the success of the event.

“We couldn’t begin to fathom what it would be like, if we knew our parish didn’t step up and do what we needed to be done. Everybody steps up to do what they can and then goes above and beyond,” she said. “We’re very indebted to the students from the Catholic Student Center. Our numbers are dwindling in our parish, and we need their young bodies and strong arms. We couldn’t do it without them, as well as all of our youth from the little bitty kids on up to the college students.”

April Artho, 8, was working on cleaning trays to be used by those eating at the festival.

“I really like to help,” she said. “It’s fun, and it helps the church, so I don’t mind giving up my time.”

Support from the parish and community keeps the festival going each year, Hicks said. “Father Daniel Raef keeps us fired up over this whole thing. It’s still new to him, and he is so joyful and enthusiastic,” she said. “We just want to thank everyone for coming out and supporting us. God continues to bless St. Mary’s.”